After several false starts in politics (losing two mayoral races and an attempt to become Lt. Governor), Maddox became infamous when he was photographed on 3 July 1964 wielding an axe handle at negroes attempting to enter his whites-only Pickrick cafeteria. After a lengthy court battle, Maddox closed his restaurant rather than admit the darker races. Maddox subsequently ran for governor, defeating ex-Governor Ellis Arnall in the primary and Bo Callaway in the election. Though fears were than he would run Georgia as a whites-only playground, Maddox actually appointed more blacks to state offices than all previous governors put together, and was strangely popular among at least a good portion of Georgia's African-American community.